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When you talk to any general practitioner, meaning family practice physician, they will tell you emphatically that they are seeing more and more antibiotic resistance. It’s a hot topic with me given that I have had a sinus infection which does not respond to any of the normal antibiotics for almost one year. Dr. Justin Welsh of Merck Animal Health is part of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s One Health initiative to address resistance in both animal and human health.In fact, surveillance programs have been in place for years. Agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine work together to monitor bacteria and resistance trends in the environment and in food.

Welsh says most of the research looks at foodborne pathogens like salmonella, campylobacter (?kam-p?-l?-?bak-t?r) and E.coli, measuring any changes in resistance to drugs that are medically important to humans. While the increase remains minimal, Welsh says animal experts and producers are taking steps to address the issue – like the Veterinary Feed Directive, in which producers are required to obtain a prescription from a veterinarian prior to administering any antibiotic